May 1, 2017

cool stuff i like

Well it isn't Friday! It's a long time since I've blogged, is what it is. There's been a lot going on, trying to make a new look for Julia's Bookbag. And trying to just live life. It's actually been great not being online very much. But I am excited to get back to books and showing you Cool Stuff and interesting books and yummy treats. Happy May! It's May! I love May. It sounds pretty, and I'm feeling sooooooooo confident that the weeks and months of nonstop rain will start to recede into memory. A few weeks ago, I said it had rained more this winter/spring since 1961. That factoid has now been revised: the Pacific Northwest has now had the rainiest winter/spring since weather has been written down and recorded in this area. How about them apples.

The pic up above is from when we went to Seabrook, Washington, which is the cutest little coastal town - we went there with some friends for spring break. PSA - you might want to avoid cute little coastal towns in April! This little patch of sun was all we saw, for a couple hours on our first day. Then it didn't just rain...it STORMED. As in a huge wind and rain storm that swept all over Western Washington. We lost power in our rental, but surprisingly, not for very long, and it was much more fun being in a storm on our vacation, then being at home. The kids had a grand time and we played games and watched movies and we made several trips to the candy store. So all in all, maybe you do want to visit little coastal towns in April, when the weather is bad?

Cool Book of the Week: 'Rain'by Sam Usher. This brand-new-this-spring picturebook seemed OH so timely right about now. And it's the cutest. I just loved it! A little boy and his grandpa are spending the day together, but it's rain rain rain all day. Grandpa isn't really feeling the rain, so he says they'll stay inside, have cocoa, and be cozy while waiting out the rainstorm. Grandpa sounds like my kind of guy. The little boy amuses himself inside, dreaming up all sorts of rainy, watery imaginings. When the rain finally stops and he's allowed to go outside, the little boy sees that the wait was worthwhile. He has a glorious time in the puddle filled landscape of his neighborhood - made more magical by the time he spent pondering what a rainy day outside would be like amidst raindrops and reflections and imaginary sea monsters.

I'll see you later in the week with a recipe! I'll leave you with my eating/reading/watching list: this (it's become a family favorite), this (I've got a stack of middle grade fiction books to go through) and this (fantastic).

THANK YOU so so much!!! There are a few glitches to work out still, my vertical photos aren't sized quite right, but I'm hoping everything will be figured out soon! I had a very chaotic year last year - I felt a strong need to have an calmer, uncluttered space here to let the photos do the talking :)